Culture

I like to exercise, especially playing basketball. Physical fitness is something that I have always tried to take seriously, although admittedly, I take it more serious at certain times compared to others. Currently, my physical fitness is not where it needs to be, but I’ll try to get that figured out sooner than later. A question I have received at TWB from time to time is ‘does marijuana help you exercise?’

I have lifted weights and played basketball after getting high, and it seems to put me in a zone that I don’t get into when sober. I feel more focused, and more in touch with my body. Marijuana doesn’t necessarily motivate me to workout, but once I’m at the gym, it helps me get a better workout, if that makes sense. Leafly recently published an article that talks more about marijuana and exercise. A few excerpts are below:

“It’s not news to the medical community that the human body stores tetrahydrocannabidiol (THC), the main psychoactive in cannabis, in fat. However, a study put out this August in Drug and Alcohol Dependence has shown that this storage process can give exercisers an extra boost, even up to 28 days after consumption.”

“Yet, contrary to popular thought, it’s not just the endorphins (the compounds which make you feel excited after activities such as exercise and sex) that make physical activity so great. A 2003 study found that exercise actually activates the endocannabinoid system in the same way that the cannabis plant does. The endocannabinoid system is a group of lipids (types of fats) and cell receptors that cannabinoids (compounds like THC and CBD) bind to inside the body. The endocannabinoid system is responsible for easing pain, controlling appetite, and influences mood and memory. ”

“A recent study published in the American Journal of Medicine has found that regular cannabis consumers have fasting insulin (insulin in your body before eating) levels 16% lower than non-consumers. The study also found that cannabis consumers had 17% lower insulin resistance levels and lower average waist circumferences.”

Next time, before you hit the gym, try getting high first. If that’s not your thing, then by all means don’t do it. But if you are looking to see how marijuana affects your workout, give it a try. Scientific studies suggest it could help you out!

I realize that it's difficult to read this title without laughing. Let's face it, the drug war is far from over and probably won't end for a good amount of years. Obama would like us to think that we're safe... But in reality, the DEA and law enforcement are going to continue to bust people for "crimes" when they could be focusing that energy elsewhere, on the countless other problems that plague the cities we live in.

The National Drug Control Strategy released last week said that officials were going to put on a more sympathetic and humane approach to drug users and the problem of addiction. There is talk of education and public health, rather than increased police forces and harsh punishments. Officials are also trying out this crazy new idea of using evidence to back up their claims and are trying to opt for compassionate messaging to the people. But is it for real or is this just a facade?

If you're one of the 264 people arrested in Philly for marijuana possession in the past month or so, you're probably not buying the fact that the drug war is over. Most people aren't, for that matter. The government may be telling us that the drug war is over but their actions speak much differently. The White House and the Office of National Drug Control Policy have spent years using taxpayer money and other resources to imprison, abuse, and ruin the lives of the people who have happened to fall in the grasp of addiction (whether it is cannabis or something else). These people do not need jail.

These people need help. And serious help, not the nonsense propaganda that anti-drug companies pump in to mainsteam media. Hey guys, here's a piece of advice. Your ads don't work and are the subject of massive ridicule in the stoner community (and I'm sure other communities as well). If you make an ad of a dog telling it's owner to stop smoking weed, there's a strong chance that people will for the most part just brush your ad off, change the channel, and pack another bongload.

Even though Obama and his cronies claim that they're trying to get the negativity out of the drug addiction scene, it'll never happen. Since the use of these drugs is still a crime and those "crimes" are punishable with jail time, community service, and loss of personal property or children, there will always be negativity associated with drug abuse. And not negativity in the sense of sympathy which is what is needed. Negativity in the sense that these people need help and our government would rather lock them up in jail, while simultaneously killing thousands of people not only in this country but in places like Colombia and Mexico.

Arrest rates in the United States are so ridiculously high (700 per every 10,000) that research is beginning to show that the amount of people in prison and not working/contributing to society. Too many people are in jail and there are not enough people working in society. The release is also a problem, as families get broken up and those released are less likely to get rehired at a job.

After a long time of lusting over Instagram photos of shatter, wax, and crumble, I finally managed to get myself to California to try some REAL product... Something that doesn't make an appearance in my home state. Concentrates where I come from look like resin and taste like straight chemicals. In order to preserve my already seriously damaged lungs (due to smoking cigarettes and a terrible bout of bad bronchitis), I managed to hold off on dabbing until I reached the sunny state of California.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I arrived in California and met up with one of my contest winners from Instagram. She was super nice and even prepared for our non-dabbing selves to show up at her house, taking advantage of the 7-10 sales that had happened the previous day to be sure that she had the best concentrates she could snag for us. Not only that but she had an E-nail, something I definitely didn't expect to use for my first time dabbing.

The shatter we had was this amazing run called Animal Cookies, which is apparently a highly sought after and desired strain. It tasted amazing, was smooth and sweet. Taste wise, the shatter was far cleaner tasting than my usual flower bowls and really didn't hit me as hard as some people had described. Although, I'm sure that not all people are lucky enough to have someone give them step-up dabs their first time. Our friend started with smaller dabs and graduated slowly over the course of the time that we spent there. While I was a noob when I arrived in California, my friend definitely helped us get on the right track, with a great set up and awesome product.

As said above, the effect wasn't as strong as I initially expected but I can see how people really love dabbing, especially those who have issues with breathing or who need a stronger potency in their medicine. If you're worried about the quality of the product in your area, I have one piece of advice; WAIT. Waiting to take a hit of good product is well worth it, both for the experience and for your health. Badly made concentrates can be seriously detrimental to your health and it's a good idea to hold off. Wait for the good stuff. That way, you'll never have butane headaches, overheated nails, or product that makes your throat burn for days.

Most of the marijuana recipes require marijuana butter instead of normal butter. It is very easy to make and it can be used as normal butter. Another advantage is that it can also be made of marijuana leaves. Especially the small leaves close to the flowers contain a lot of resin.

In order to make the THC in marijuana active it has to be heated in some way. Normally it is done by smoking it but it can also be eaten. THC resolves in fat, not in water. So it’s important to use fat if you’re cooking with marijuana. Oil, milk and butter are perfect to resolve THC and are used in many recipes. Simply replace the normal butter or oil with the prepared one.

Eating cannabis is different from smoking. In the end the effects are the same but when you smoke marijuana the effects are noticeable gradually. When eating marijuana the effects take some time to be noticeable but it comes suddenly. So try a little bit and wait some time before taking more because it might take up to 45 minutes before you feel anything… Download my free marijuana grow bible and learn more about what to do with your marijuana plant trim.

-Marijuana butter

Heat the water and the butter together in a sauce pan. Add the ground leaves or weed and stir it through the mixture. Let it simmer for 30 minutes and stir occasionally. Pour the mixture through a strainer to remove the marijuana. Put the pan in the refrigerator so the butter will solidify at the top of the water. Discard the water and your marijuana butter is ready to use for your cakes, brownies and cookies.

-Marijuana cooking oil

It’s also very easy to make THC-containing oil. Add the leaves or buds to the oil and heat it up. Make sure it doesn’t get to hot otherwise the marijuana will fry. Heat it for 2 or 3 hours and stir occasionally. Let it cool and then strain the oil. It can be used for any recipe that calls for vegetable oil like mayonnaise or dressing.

-Marijuana milk or cream

Heat up the milk or cream in a sauce pan bot don’t let it boil. Add the leaves or the weed and stir it gently. Let the mixture simmer for half an hour and don’t let it boil. Stir every now and then. Put the milk through a strainer and let it cool down. Use your milk in milkshakes or ice cream.

All top quality marijuana seeds are available in my marijuana seed shop. We ship seeds to the US, CA and many other countries. For any growing related question please visit the marijuana support page. Make sure to download my free grow guide.

I have been consuming marijuana since 1993. The first time I smoked marijuana with a name attached to it was ‘The Project’ during that year. The strain was created by my friend’s step-dad who crossed two unknown strains that he obtained in Hawaii while on vacation in the late 1980′s. He originally just called his grow room his ‘project’ and the name became attached to the strain that was produced by the grow room. He said it was a pure sativa strain, and it packed a punch the likes of which I have rarely seen in all of my years of traveling and toking.

For a long time I wasn’t concerned with strain names. I had seen so many people take an unknown strain, create a name themselves, and pass it along to the people they sold it to. Just because someone thought they were smoking the White Widow strain didn’t really mean that they were actually smoking that strain. I’ve seen new strain names pulled out of thin air, which didn’t come about from a new strain being created, but merely from someone taking a marijuana they bought and giving it a catchy name to help sales. For a long time I kind of considered strain names to be unreliable at best, or a total sham at the worst.

A question I often get is, ‘how many marijuana strains are there?’ It’s not an easy question to answer. As I previously stated, just because a strain name is out there, doesn’t mean it’s a unique strain. This is especially true of celebrity strain names. CNN reporter Sanjay Gupta is a great example. After Mr. Gupta announced his support for medical marijuana, a few weeks later the Gupta strains started showing up at dispensaries out West. Clearly there was not enough time to create a new strain from seed, veg it, flower it, dry it, and get it in a jar to be sold. Someone took an already established strain, simply changed the name on the jar, and started selling it as a new strain.

That scenario has occurred who knows how many times all over the world. The answer I offer up to people when they ask how many strains there are is to point them to Leafly, which has the largest database of marijuana strains that I know of right now. According to an article in the Los Angeles Times, Leafly currently has 779 marijuana strains on file. How many of those are unique, I’ll leave that up to them to determine. I would say that there are at least that many out there, but since Leafly adds new ones each week, and I have personal friends that have created strains that aren’t in their database, there are clearly more than that.

I wonder how many there will be five years from now, or ten years from now. We have a few hundred on The Weed Blog right now, and I add new ones as often as I can. I’m getting my medical card again soon, and with legalization on the way in Oregon, I’ll be able to visit dispensaries and stores to find new strains to add to our site. Stay tuned!

Most stoners have figured out ways to bypass the ever dreaded drug test that employers still deem necessary. Of course, it's good to know if your employees are doing cocaine or meth, among the other more serious drugs. But the fact that there are companies that are still testing for THC in legal states is a little ridiculous. Even so, there are ways to pass and not get caught. Fake pee, a friend's pee, etc. But if you're like the first man to purchase weed in Washington state, there's really no way to fool your employer in to thinking you don't smoke if they see you buy a bag of bud on TV.

Mike Boyer was the first man to buy cannabis in the state of Washington on July 8th when the plant finally became legal. He waited all night, even brought his stuff to camp out in, as well as some munchies that included Mountain Dew and Doritos. He was totally amped to get that first bag of green gold in the morning! And he did, snagging a bag of Sour Kush that cost him $50. His purchase was recorded by TV cameras as well as photographers, as another epic moment in American history was made.

The high of the purchase was somewhat short lived when Boyer went home to discover a message from his employer, Kodiak Security Services, telling him that he must submit to a drug test. Boyer submitted to the test, which came back positive for THC and Boyer was let go from his job, where he had worked on and off for twelve years. "Several years ago, I signed a document saying I wouldn't have [THC] in my system but I don't smoke at work!" Boyer told NY Daily News. Kodiak denied the fact that they had fired Boyer. Kym Ramey, manager of HR at the security service, said "We're a security firm. Our employees can't be under the influence on the job." The situation is slightly confusing and is sure to develop more as time goes on, as marijuana activists are surely upset about such a terribly rude gesture.

Boyer didn't seem too phased by the negative backlash from his stoney purchase, instead saying that he's "still the captain! Still number one!" He went on to say that am an can always get a job but you can only be the first man to buy weed in Spokane once. Making history seems to be much higher on Boyer's list than working at a job that is so disrespectful to long term employees. Boyer has already posted his resume to Craigslist in hopes of finding a new job but his enthusiasm for cannabis is still not dampened.